Once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage
Time stands still in the Holy Land, where time began.
It’s where the Israel of 2,000 years ago, the Israel of the Bible, meets modern-day Israel.
But thousands upon thousands of Christian pilgrims — who make up the bulk of Israel’s resuscitated tourism industry —would argue that time in the Holy Land does anything but stand still, as they’re whisked in buses from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to holy sites, archaeological excavations, modern museums, Dead Sea spas and souvenir shops before being dropped off eight days later to fly home.
As a recent co-leader with my husband, Jerry, of one such group of Christian pilgrims — the Journey Home Tour 2007, sponsored by the Chicago-based non-profit International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, or IFCJ— I can attest that the spiritually-focused tours billed as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Bible come to life” are just that. And more.
For some, the whirlwind following long, transatlantic flights from the United States can be dizzying and overwhelming. For others — those determined to soak in everything the Land of Milk and Honey has to offer — the hectic pace is exhilarating. For all, from 15-year-old Cierra Barton to her 90-year-old grandmother, Lucille Maczino, the experience is emotional, inspirational.
The role of co-leader has its routine:counting heads each time our 114 participants returned to one of three buses, warning about the “slicker-than-David-Copperfield” pickpocketsand hawkers that prey on tourists at popular holy sites and encouraging “We’re almost there” to those who have trouble walking distances.
The role of co-leader also has its rewards, like being able to experience the Holy Land through the eyes of first-timers rather than being blase about my sixth visit.
Nothing changes about why Christians visit Israel, the birthplace of Jesus. They save for a lifetime, as did 86-year-old Al Garrett. Or they work a second job, as did 57-year-old Cyndi Newsome, primarily to:
• Walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
• Stand atop the Mount of Beatitudes where tradition says Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
• Experience walking down the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, Israel’s crown jewel.
• Don rented white robes to be re-baptized in the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized.
• Commemorate his crucifixion and resurrection with communion in the serene Garden Tomb.
On a stirring boat ride on the harp-shaped Sea of Galilee, where Jesus miraculously calmed stormy waters and walked on water, IFCJ President and Rabbi Yechiel Ecksteintells his guests the body of water is a reminder “that there are moments when our lives are choppy, moments when our lives are stormy, and times that are placid.”
For archeology buffs like Matthew Avery, 24, the tour offered the chance to marvel at the ancient amphitheaters, near-perfect mosaic floors, bath houses and fortresses at the 2,000-year-old Bet Shean, where the decapitated body of King Saul was hung after his armies were defeated by the Philistines, and at Masada, home of King Herod’s palace and site of the mass suicide of 960 Jews who died rather than become slaves of the Romans.
Praying at the Western Wall — Judaism’s holiest site — affords the rare opportunity to pray alongside Israel’s Hasidic/Ultra Orthodox, Orthodox and non-observant Jews, all segregated by gender. Most Christians approach the towering stone wall with written prayer requests rolled into scrolls, tucking them into the wall’s deep crevices. Prayer warriors delight in knowing their written requests are routinely collected and used in Jerusalem’s building foundations.
Two hours are insufficient for Yad Vashem, the compelling museum devoted to remembering the Holocaust, the Nazi massacre that took the lives of 6 million Jews. Gut-wrenching testimonies from survivors, graphic photographs of the atrocities, plundered religious objects from synagogues and shoes worn by Holocaust victims bring tears.
Crammed between are lighter experiences and Kodak moments:
• Riding camels ($5 for 30 seconds) in parking lots.
• Renewing marriage vows in Cana.
• Floating in the salt-frosted, mineral-rich Dead Sea, the lowest accessible point on earth at 1,300 feet below sea level.
• Negotiating the noisy bustle of narrow cobblestone streets in the marketplaces of the Jewish, Christian, Armenian and Muslim quarters in Jerusalem’s Old City.
• Shopping for souvenirs: wooden nativity scenes, ancient coins, Roman glass, malachite jewelry and shofars, or rams’ horns made into trumpets.
Journey Home participants — all sharing a burden for Israel, unconditional love for the Jewish people and a commitment to the social welfare of those who choose Israel as their homeland — seize the opportunity to donate blood to Magen David Adom, Israel’s version of our Red Cross.
They’re also fascinated with Fellowship-sponsored humanitarian projects aimed at raising and educating 6,000 disadvantaged children and feeding 11,000 of Israel’s hungriest residents on a daily basis. For Etta Kemp, 71, helping IFCJ pilgrims harvest 3,200 pounds of turnips under a sweltering sun was the high point of her second Fellowship trip.
Wide-eyed guests try to take in all the natural beauty, including the bluest sky imaginable, olive tree groves, colorful bougainvillaea and parched desert peppered with cacti. They squeal at the sight of camels, ostriches, wild buffaloes and white donkeys.
In the same country where gas costs more than $7 a gallon and ice is a luxury (requests for ice are met with frowns, thanks to Israel’s water shortage), there are Pizza Huts, McDonald’s, Office Depots and Ace hardware stores. Not to mention Barbie dolls, Nike T-shirts, Air Jordans and Disney characters. Surprisingly, there are no Starbucks.
Almost ignoring its ancient ruins and Biblical heritage, Israel is often referred to as the “51st state.” Americans are happy to learn the U.S. dollar is more coveted and valuable than the native shekel. They’re also relieved that seldom is there a language barrier that can’t transcend body language or old-fashioned bartering.
In the land where time stands still — except for visiting tourists — bonds can be created quickly. By the farewell dinner, hugs and tears abounded among new-found friends.
Many, like 54-year-old Clifford Menifee, already have decided their “once-in-a-lifetime” trip to the Holy Land isn’t enough. They’ve already made up their mind to come back.
“Next year, Jerusalem” is their vow — ample testimony to an inspiring visit to the land where the past meets the present, and the future is in God’s hands.
Sandy Thorn Clark is a Chicago-based free-lance writer.